A Maiden's Prayer
by One Sided Pancake
Summary: On a night where the stars traced the half-moon sky, she wondered why it was that she could not cry... Shinku's most beautiful desire to become human and see the world with new set of eyes is granted, but it just may become the death of her...
1. Chapter the First

**Maiden's Prayer  
**_- Chapter the First-_

**

* * *

**Light faltered through the windows of Jun's room, separated on the floor by the shadows of the window blinds. Outside, leaves rustled and danced happily. Night time had still become of the bitter sky above, and the only light emited was that of the moon and the stars surrounding it. No one walked the streets at this hour, for it was far to late for any good children to be about. People would step outside for a while, and walk back in their house from the chilly cold.

Surely, there was no reason for anyone to be stalking the nights at a condition like this.... There's no reason for any _human_ to walk about, that is...

Shinku was clutching one of Jun's newest voodoo dolls close to her chest as she walked the stone sidewalk. It had been named Eisley. Shinku gripped it with her hands and sighed as the harsh night wind nearly shoved her to the side. The small doll staggered back to her path, taking seven paces before the wind finally died down. Although the wind had brushed against her face, she felt nothing. Shinku had lifted one porcelain hand up from its place on the voodoo doll to adjust her scarlet bonnet that lied on her head.

She continued walking to a park that had lied directly down the block from Jun's school. As she approached the gates, she stopped with a hint of nostalgia. In the day time, children would giggle and laugh amongst themselves. They would fight over whose turn it was to sit in the swings, and run from whoever was picked 'it' in a friendly game of Tag. The little children would slowly climb to the top of the stairs, and would have to be rescued by the older kids upon looking down. This is how it was in the daytime, at least.

At night, the park that was friendly in the light had now looked like a cryptic and dusky scene from a movie. The swings, empty, screeched as they teetered in the wind. The slides were empty, with no children pushing or shoving to get their turn. The monkey bars stood bare, and the wind hollered through the empty tunnels.

Shinku faltered as she walked over to an empty metal swing. She placed the doll on the black rubber seat, and stood behind.

"Human..." Shinku said as she slowly pushed the swing, "What must it be like to be human?"

Jun was a human. He went to sleep at nights, woke up in the mornings, smiled when he was happy, and frowned when something displeased him. He grinned when Nori said that she cooked his favorite meal, and yelled when it turns out she burnt it in the oven. He went to school, made friends, and was seemingly falling in love with the human girl known as Tomoe.

"What does it mean to be human? There has to be something... If there wasn't, why are they always so... happy?" Shinku resumed pushing Eisley on the swings. Looking down at the blue and green voodoo doll, she frowned as another question struck her mind. The blonde doll thought to herself for a moment, before pondering upon it even more.

"This doll... Is not alive. It does not talk. It does not breathe. It does not speak upon its own will and think for its well-being..."

The swing came to a halt as the voodoo doll fell to the sandy pit below it. Shinku kneeled down to pick up the doll, and brushed the sand off from its sides. Turning the doll to face her in her arms, she gazed upon the lifeless, glass eyes that stared back at her.

"It is not alive, and it does not do the things that humans do. But, if this is the case... Then, I am stuck between the two states of being. I am human; but, I am not human. I move, I hate, I pity. But on the other hand, I do not grow. I do not age; I will not die. I cannot know what the emotion known as 'love' is."

Shinku threw the doll into the sand, and stepped over it as she angrily stomped over to a wooden park bench. It was a little too tall for her to simply sit down upon, but Shinku managed to climb up the railings.

"Human, human, human..." Shinku sighed as she placed her porcelain hands over her eyes. If she were human, surely, she would be crying. Tears would fall from her eyes, and she would experience feelings of sorrow. "If I were human..."

The world around Shinku began to spin around her. Colors meshed together into one solid shade of black as the moon faded from her sight. "If I were human..." Shinku could no longer sit up straight. She fell from the elegant bench, her arms trying to keep her balance. Her hands lost their control and went limp by her sides. She couldn't move, and as she fell off the bench, onto the cold grassy earth beneath her. Her eyes fluttered as they tried to hold themselves open, but her body said otherwise. Looking up at the night time sky, she tries to reach towards the moon. Her hand cannot be lifted, however, and eventually lands on the ground with the rest of her. Shinku's eyes close shut, and her mind seems to be numb. She sputters out only the few words on her mind before her body shuts down.

"If I were human..."

**To be continued in Chapter Two...**

* * *

**Hello, One Sided Pancake here, bringing you my first Rozen Maiden fanfiction. I really hope you enjoyed it, as it is fun to write, from the starts of it.  
Please do review if you can, I'd really appreciate all criticism you have to offer.**

**_-_-_ OSP _-_-_  
**


	2. Chapter the Second

**Maiden's Prayer**_  
_

* * *

_Shinku remembers the day Jun brought home a towering stack of children's books for Shinku to read. When Jun threw the books at Shinku's feet, Shinku immediately sat in her most favorite chair and read each and every one of them; cover to cover. She read stories of brave princes and small mice who would help a poor and lonely girl become a princess. She read the adventures of a beautiful princess who befriended seven lively dwarves, and of evil stepmothers who wished their daughters to stand down from the spotlight. All of these magic stories Shinku read, she felt some sort of connection to. She couldn't place what she felt to the stories, but there was definitely a connection._

_Of all the stories that Shinku had read that day, there was a particular story that had reached out to her.  
When she finished reading the book, she looked at the cover had said the name aloud to herself_

_"The Little Mermaid..."_

_The girl who fell in love with a human boy and watched him from the seas. She made a deal with an evil witch; She would be granted a human form, but she could not speak. Once the deal was over, she would die. When she finally became human, she couldn't tell the prince that she loved him and eventually threw herself into the ocean, out of prince, who had loved the Mermaid, jumped into the ocean with her and dragged her to safety. The Mermaid had regained her voice, and married the Prince. Together, they lived happily ever after... And the mermaid lived the remainder of her life above the sea, as a human, where her father and mermaid sisters would visit her from the ocean...  
_

_

* * *

_

Shinku awoke, her eyelashes fluttering open as she regained her consciousness. Before she had fallen, she was in the park, during the night time. Now, when Shinku looked around, she was floating through a world, where colors did not exist and there was an absence of light. Shinku felt as though she were weightless, and the things around her changed without affecting her.

"Is this... what humans would call... a 'dream'?" Shinku wondered, still half-unconscious. "Am I alone?" Shinku looked around, but saw no people by her side. "Jun? Hina...? Suiseki...?" No answer. Shinku was all alone. Shinku tried to get up, but found it hard to.

There was no gravity. There was no time, no space, and no light.

"Where am I?" Shinku asked as she turned her head from side to side. She couldn't see anything; it was like she had no eyes in her porcelain skull.

"Dearest Shinku, you are in the Realm of Nothingness..."

"Who was that...? Show yourself at once," Shinku demanded. If someone was here in the world with her, she would like to at least know the whereabouts. Looking around furiously, she couldn't see anything. "Where are you?"

"I am not 'here'," the voice stated. The ghastly echo of this person's voice was quite eerie. It was the only sound Shinku could hear. Shinku opened her eyes a little wider.

"You are not here? But how can that be? I am speaking to you right now." Shinku said with an odd expression. It was impossible for someone to not be here, but exist here, anyways. Shinku did not believe it.

"I do not exist in this world, unless you want me to. I am a part of you; I am your soul." the voice wailed.

"My soul...?" Shinku thought for a minute while she looked down at her hands. She saw the ball-joints on her wrist and frowned. "But, dolls do not have souls. Dolls are not living... We do not have a soul within us."

"Oh, is that so?" The eerie voice said. "I've been with you for the longest of times, Shinku. Ever since the day Rozen completed you as the Fifth doll of the Rozen Maidens. I've resided in your 'heart' since the moment you first opened your eyes to the world."

"H...Hollier? Is that you?" Shinku demanded. Her voice rose an octave as she desperately tried to search for the source.

"Yes... It is I, Hollier; Your Roza Mystica; Your soul."

Shinku blinked as she realized that it was Hollier that had brought her here, to this place with no light.

"Hollier, where are you?!" Shinku asked. Although Shinku couldn't see anything, Hollier was a ball of light. If Hollier was here, she would be able to see it within the darkness... Right?

"I am here, with you. We are inside of your 'heart'. I am within the deepest part of your 'heart'; where no one but yourself can reach."

"You said we were in the Realm of Nothingness... Why am I here?" Shinku pointed out.

"Yes. The Realm of Nothingness is your 'heart'. You may have a soul, but only humans have a full heart. You, Shinku, have an empty heart. You feel no emotion; you do not dream. You realized this, and you wanted to have a 'heart'. And that is why I brought you here... I will make your wish come true."

"My wish...?" Shinku then recalled walking in the park during the late night. She remembered wondering what being a human meant; what being in love was like.

"Making a wish is the first step to having a 'heart'... " Hollier began, "You realized that there is something you desire with all of your being."

"How will you make my wish come true, then?" Shinku didn't understand. Hollier was her Soul, but it seemed to be a completely different being than Shinku herself. Shinku had never spoken to Hollier; Hollier, for all Shinku had previously known about Roza Mysticas, was just something to protect, but she never saw why. Now, she understood it clearly.

"I will make a pact with you. For decades and decades in the past and present, I have followed you. I have made sure that you stayed 'alive'. Without me, you would be an average doll, Shinku. So, this pact will also pay me back..."

"What is it, Hollier? What is the pact?" Shiku seemed eager to hear the rest.

"I will grant you a human body and a human heart. With this human heart, you will obtain as many emotions and memories you can. You will learn what it is to be 'human'. You will be able to fall in love and be loved."

Shinku was now starting to get the idea. She wanted the pact to start immediately, and wanted Hollier to know that she accepted.

"Hollier, oh, please! I accept the pact! Please establish it right n-" Hollier cut Shinku off.

"Allow me to finish, dearest Shinku. The pact will only last no more than twenty-nine days. Did you hear that? Twenty-nine days. When twenty-nine days have passed, given that you have accepted the pact, your human form will die, and your doll form will become inanimate. I will no longer be with you once I die in your human body."

"Die...?" Shinku repeated. When twenty-nine days were over, Shinku would be dead? Forever?

"I will follow you to your human body. When you die, we will part, Shinku. 'Shinku' will die, but your spirit, 'Hollier', will go to a different place. Your 'heart' will cease to exist, therefore setting me free to a new world..."

"...Is that so..."

"Yes... Shinku. This world that we are in now; it is your 'heart'. It is empty because you have never felt emotion. You have never dreamed. You have no fond memories. That is why it is the Realm of Nothingness. When you become human, this place will no longer be empty. It will have every memory and dream you've ever had; every sight you've seen and every time you felt fear and love. When you die, I, your soul, will come here; to your heart. I will stay here forever, in the heart that you have created... The heart with everything you've ever experienced while you were living."

Things just got more complicated. If Shinku accepted the pact, she would become human and be able to directly express her emotions. She could love Jun. She could get annoyed when Hinaichigo yelled in the morning. She could feel the wind brush against her hair, and she could enjoy the world. But, if she accepted the pact, in twenty-nine days, she will die. Right when she finally sees the life of being a human; it will be taken from her.

On the other hand, if Shinku didn't accept the pact, she would be stuck as a doll. The Realm of Nothingness would remain empty and broken forever. She will never know love, and she will remain a heartless doll, without a purpose on Earth. Jun will never see her as anything but an emotionless doll that sputters out orders. Shinku will never have a dream, or a fear, or love.

"So, what will it be, dearest Shinku? You need not accept the pact if you want not to." Hollier whispered from inside her 'heart'.

"Hollier... There are many risks that I will take if I accept the pact. I will live; but in the end, I will only die. A very sorrowful choice to make. And I hope you understand my reasoning..."

"Then, Shinku; I ask you the question that hundreds of humans have been asked before..."

Shinku mentally braced herself for the question. She thought and she thought about what her answer would be; what would be best for herself and Jun? What about her sisters?

Hollier then spoke the words.

_"Wind, or Don't Wind?"_

Shinku finally came to her decision; there was no stopping her now. Once she picked an action, it was all in her hands where the destiny of her future lies. With this in mind, Shinku whispered her answer. Here goes nothing...

**_"Wind."_**

**_

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_**_To be continued in Chapter the Third...._**_  
_**

**_

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_Please keep those reviews rolling! I hope that by now, you can see a moral starting to take shape...**

**OSP  
**


	3. Day One: Discoveries

_**A Maiden's Prayer**  


* * *

  
It had been the question that such a small handful of children alike had been faced with.  
They would imagine the world to be an ordinary day, interrupted by the infamous words presented to them on the note:  
Wind, or Don't Wind? _

_What was the right answer? What was the question, in the first place?  
No one knew until they had answered the 'correct choice'... If there was one.__  
_

___Answer Wind, and you get a mysterious yet elegant chamber case, containing the Fifth Doll of the Rozen Maidens: Shinku.__  
Answer Don't Wind, and the questionnaire would just seem like a silly prank.  
_

_It was only if they decided to turn that golden key did their life truly take a turn, for better or for worse...  


* * *

**Day One**_

Sun. The first thing that Shinku had seen when she woke up, lying on the warm, stove-like sidewalk. Her sides ached, and she had a tingling sensation at her hands and feet. She had nearly forgotten that she had passed out last night, and wondered to herself if the pact between Hollier and herself had really happened, or if she was going insane.

_Is it my imagination playing mind games with me, Hollier? _Shinku had thought to the back of her mind, as if speaking to a being that she wasn't entirely sure was there. In her mind, she wanted Hollier to have been real. She wanted Hollier to have been the one who had brought her "The Rozen Question", or so she had coined it.

The wind had brushed against Shinku's smooth face, her contrastingly, silky blonde hair tickling her cheeks. She couldn't help but move her hands up to brush it away. It had created a weird sensation on her head. Putting her hands down at her sides, Shinku then realized the unthinkable.

_Normally, I wouldn't have been able to feel that. Was she human? Had that conversation with Hollier really taken place? _

As long elegant eyelashes fluttered open, they quickly shut themselves upon staring into the blinding daylight sky.

"Ouch..." Shinku cried as she raised her arms to cover her face. Her eyes began to water, and an array of colors flashed in the back Shinku's eyes, were she had stared into the sun. "Why does the Sun hurt me?!" She spoke aloud to herself, in a frantic matter._ She was terrified. _The Sun had never hurt her before. She had been able to stare into the Sun hours at a time, before. Whenever Jun or Nori had exited the house, they often shielded their eyes and reached for their shaded sunglasses.

"It's too bright outside, today! Jun, time to wake up!" Nori would sing as she left for college in the morning.

"Gah... Too freakin' sunny..." Jun would complain when he would wake up.. He'd soon shut the shades on the windows.

Shinku never understood why they had said this, but she had eventually gotten used to it where she would say it as well, without meaning it. Her glass eyes had never been hurt by the Sun's rays before. She always thought that humans were just weird, but now, she understood why.

After the lights had died down a little in her eyes, she was able to see the things around her. Birds flew overhead in flocks, feathers occasionally descending onto the ground below. The sky seemed to be a little more blue, as the grass, more green. The autumn leaves had looked more brilliant with their many colors than they had before; Many shades of orange, yellow, brown, and sometimes a little green. Had they always been so beautiful?

* * *

"Jun, there's some hot tea on the kitchen counter in the black cup, if you happen to get thirsty. And, for dinner, I was thinking we could go somewhere to eat..." Nori had offered kindly. Anything to make Jun feel better; Nori had thought of it. Nothing seemed to work.

"I'm not hungry." Jun declined. He sat at his desk in the comfort of his bedroom, face in palm. Nori walked up to Jun and placed a hand on his shoulder. Normally, Jun wouldn't let Nori even see his face at a time like this, but now was an exception.

"Jun..." Nori began, "I'm sure Shinku is alright. She is very careful and alert, and I'm sure she wouldn't let anything happen... wherever she is."

"Gee, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Jun said as he rolled his eyes. He realizes that he shouldn't have said that, and that Nori was trying to comfort him. But, he was too in depth with thinking about the possibilities, now.

"...Sorry, Jun." Nori whispered as she proceeded to make an exit, closing the door softly behind her as she left.

When Jun heard the door shut, Jun sighed in the usual blank manner. He didn't mean to do that.

Jun recalled the argument between Shinku he had. It had been nearly three days ago, and Shinku hasn't shown her face around the Sakurada Residence since. She had bolted out of the front door, one of Jun's voodoo doll's in hand, before Jun could say otherwise. At the time, he had thought that she would be back in an hour or so, but when she didn't come back that night, he began to worry. As one day turned into the second, and second to the third, Jun's worry grew. Was she alright? Is she gone because of her own will? He sure hoped so, as much as it pained him to think.

The doorbell rang twice as Jun snapped back to reality.

"Hey, Nori; you gonna get that?", Jun called out from his room. Right when he thought that Nori didn't hear him and decided to go answer it for himself, he heard Nori let out a yell. It was a surprised sort of yelling; something either caught her off guard, or she accidentally slammed the door in another mailman's face again. Jun couldn't be too sure, nowadays.

"Jun, you must come down this instant! Oh my goodness~"

He could hear the excitement in his sister's voice. It wasn't hard to tell that Shinku had come back, and thank goodness for that. Here, Jun had worried himself sick over her! _Stupid doll_, he thought. Worried for nothing.

As he made his way down the creaky wooden stairs, he had the twitch in his system that Shinku sill might have been mad at him. Maybe she had just finally decided that she could tolerate the black haired teen for a moment longer.

Jun knew that he shouldn't have said the things he had three days ago; he had called her 'a heartless, selfish, and annoyingly bossy doll" after Shinku told him that he was starting to get lazy on her orders. Jun thought that Shinku would see past all of the words, as he told her this often, but it was the use of the word "heartless" that hit her. "Heartless"... Shinku said before she ran out the door, still clutching the voodoo doll Jun had shown her before. "Heartless" was stronger than any word, in Shinku's world, apparently. He had meant to chase after her then, but Nori stopped him. "Sometimes, a girl needs a little space to think things over, Jun... And Shinku's no exception..."

All his worries went away, however, once he saw golden ringlets wave in the wind.

And they came back as he saw Shinku, covering her herself with an old curtain-shade, clutching the clothes she normally wore; but they were far to small to fit her. Had they shrunk? Or did Jun not see her in such a long time, that she appeared taller?

"Jun, I'm sorry I ran off as I did earlier. I shouldn't have acted so... "heartless"."

"Mm... I guess... It was my fault for saying those things... I think." Jun tried in his heart to apologize, but he still seemed so careless. He was hoping Shinku would accept, and when she smiled, Jun knew the apology was deemed approvable.

"I am very tired. I wish to go to sleep, and to get a change of clothes... Preferably in a reverse order, though." Shinku clarified. She sighed as no one seemed to notice her new appearance. But then again, Jun _was_ looking at her rather strangely. Maybe he'd notice soon?

"Shinku, dear! Your clothes...! They are way too small! Did they shrink in water?! Because sometimes they do that, y'know!!" Nori sputtered. She looked frantic, as usual.

"Thank you for that clarification, ever-knowing sister. Shinku, you should seriously think about a change of clothes..." Jun pointed out.

"We don't have any that would fit you... Maybe some of Jun's outgrown clothes will do... Here, Shinku. I'll put away these old ones" Nori offered. As Nori reached out her hand to take Shinku's old and shrunken clothes, Jun caught a glimpse of Shinku's arm. His eyes widened when he saw her elbow.

_No elbow joints._

_Come to think of it, _Jun says to himself_, I don't see any finger ball-joints, either... What is this...?!_

Jun can't figure out this new discovery, and marvels as Nori leads Shinku to the washing-machine closet. As Shinku quietly walks past Jun, he realizes yet another mystery.

Shinku now was up to Jun's elbow in height.

Before, she had always been knee-level. Jun had to look down in order to see her. Now, she was almost eye-level, but she still had quite a ways to go if she wanted to be nearly as tall as Jun was.

"Shinku... You look..."

"...Yes?" Shinku turns her head towards Jun, a slight smile spread on her lips. She knows that Jun has noticed, by now. She just wants to hear him say it.

"I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is, you look **human**, Shinku..."


	4. Day Two: Dreaming

_**A MAIDEN'S PRAYER  
**__Chapter Four  
- Day Two -  


* * *

__"Jun... Are you happy that I am human now?" Shinku said to the black haired boy before her._

_"Yes, Shinku... I am very happy," Jun said, brushing a hand against Shinku's cheek.. "There's something I've always wanted to tell you, but never found the right time to say it." Jun then gently moved Shinku's chin closer to his own. "Shinku," he said dreamily, "I love y--"_

_

* * *

_The sound of a door interrupted Shinku's sleep. It creaked open slowly, and stopped for a couple seconds.

"Shinku...? Shinku, it's morning. I made us some tea, if you'd like to come downstairs and have a cup with me. I made your favorite."

Shinku irritably mumbled something, traces of sleepiness still running through her. Nori had interrupted her sleep. She didn't want to get up now, but the tea did sound tempting.

Shinku rolled over in an attempt to get up, and unexpectedly bumped into something tough. She let out a little cry of pain. Pain ached at her elbow and side, and now, she was startled into the state of awareness. She opened her eyes and looked over her aching shoulder to see her little antique case. The one she had slept in before she made the pact with Hollier. It looked so tiny. Shinku could hardly believe that at one time, she used to sleep inside of it.

Scrambling up to her feet, she rubbed at her arm a little more as the pain faded.

_Pain_, Shinku thought,_ I've never felt pain before now, have I..?_

* * *

"Good morning, Shinku! Did you get some good sleep?" Nori beamed at Shinku from the downstairs kitchen table.

Shinku continued to walk down the stairs, and nodded. "I did, thank you..." She said. Then, she remembered her visions while she was sleeping. She paused for a second, and added, "In fact... I think I even had a dream."

Nori's face lightened up with excitement. "A dream? Shinku, you had a dream? You really _are_ human now, aren't you? It's a miracle."

As Shinku reached the bottom step, Nori motioned Shinku to sit in the chair next to her at the table. Shinku was tall enough that she could sit down right away in the chair, now. She used to either have to have Jun lift her up upon it, or climb up it herself. Now, she was the height of a small seven-year-old human child.

"Well, Shinku... I'm curious to know; What did you dream about?" Nori asked as she poured hot tea into Shinku's teacup.

Shinku thought about her dream, about how Jun was about to tell her something, and that she was happy. She dreamed of Jun.

For the first time, Shinku's cheeks felt like they were flaming up. Her eyes widened a little, and her heart might have skipped a beat, for all she knew.

_What is this feeling? I can't tell Nori that I dreamed of... I dreamed of...!?_

"I can't remember." Shinku lied as she held the teacup to her face and took a drink. The tea was bitter, and seemed to taste much more vivid than it had when she was a doll.

"Oh, that's a shame," Nori thought, "It's a shame that you had your first dream and couldn't remember it."

"Yes... Yes it is." Shinku sighed. Good thing Nori believed her.

A quiet silence filled the air as the two sat in the kitchen, sipping the last of the tea. Shinku finally looked to Nori, and broke the quiet. "Nori, where is Jun?" She asked.

"He's out shopping, I believe." Nori answered between sips of tea.

"Oh," Shinku frowned. "Pity."

Was Jun still mad at her? For being so immature and heartless? Shinku felt something in her heart that told her that he was, but the other half said that he was just out to do some errands. He sometimes did that when there was nothing better to do, but he never would buy anything. Jun was content with window-shopping.

"Well," Shinku continued, "I wish to go upstairs then. Thank you very much for the tea."

Nori smiled kindly. "You're welcome, dear."

* * *

Shinku sat in Jun's room, inspecting the mess that it had become since she had left a few days ago. Clothes strewn everywhere, books lying on the floor and on shelves, papers scattered in every direction possible.

_Heavens_, Shinku marveled to herself, _Jun can be so sloppy sometimes..._

The blonde haired girl found herself picking up the mess, putting things back in their proper spot. She would usually order Jun to clean his room, stating that it was an 'uninhabitable waste-zone', and it would start to annoy him enough to give in and pick it up. She decided she would be nice and organize it back up for him.

Shinku threw useless papers away in the trash bin, put the dirty clothes in the laundry room's washing machine, and dusted the furniture. Books still lay everywhere, and she began to pick those up, too. School books went inside Jun's backpack, so that when he went to school on Monday, he wouldn't forget them.

While cleaning up the computer area, Shinku found papers that looked like incomplete Math and Japanese homework. Looking over it, she sighed.

"My goodness, how in the world did he get that answer? Is he stupid? The problem clearly needs to be redone. And this word structure is bland and tasteless. It needs a bit more of a rhythm to it..."

Shinku looked around for a nearby pencil that she had put away moments before and started to correct Jun's homework, trying her best to copy his handwriting.

Time passed by quickly, and Jun's homework was done.

_"There",_ Shinku said, placing the pencil and completed homework in Jun's backpack, _That looks much better. _

She took a quick look around the sparkling-clean room, a reward from all her hard work. Bookshelves neatly organized, papers all in Jun's backpack folder, and clean clothes placed in his closet and dresser. This must have been the most hard work she's done without ordering her medium to do it for her, she had to admit. But, from the corner of her eye, Shinku caught sight of one book that she missed while putting books away.

It was a small book, one that was a little smaller than regular books, and it had a lock on it. However, the lock was open, letting Shinku easily look inside. The blue-eyed girl scanned the first page;

_"October 25th:_

_Shinku came back today, after we made up for our argument.  
I thought she would be mad at me, but as it turns out, she seemed fine about it.  
. She went straight to bed when she came home,  
but she fell asleep on the floor instead of inside her case!  
Tomorrow, I think I'll try to wake up early and go shopping, and buy something  
to apologize once more..."_

_So, Jun is out shopping for an apology gift for me..._ Shinku sweetly thought. It made her happy to think that he would go out of his way for her.

Shinku closed the book, as that entry was the only entry so far in the diary, and got up off of her feet to place it on the bookshelf.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the bedroom door, and it opened.

"Shinku? Are you awa-" Jun stopped. "Uh, Shinku! What are you doing with that book!?"

Shinku's heart fell. Jun looked mad. That book must have been private, and unintended for other people to read.

"I was simply putting it away." Shinku stated blankly.

There. She didn't lie about it, but she didn't have to tell him she read it either.

"Ah... Okay... Sorry, then." Jun mumbled. He then took a look around the room. "Woah! Did you clean this room or something?"

"Yes, and it's much more clean that you could probably clean it." Shinku couldn't hold back a semi-victorious smirk.

"Well... It looks nice. Thank you." Jun simply dodged Shinku's typical response and saw that she had actually done work for once.

Shinku was a little taken that Jun didn't return some smarty remark, and acknowledged his thanks. "You are welcome."

Jun stood at the doorway for a while as Shinku put the book on one of the bookshelves. He then remembered something.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. I went shopping today..." Jun said as he pulled a large bag out from the hallway behind him, "...and I got you something." He handed the bag to Shinku once she walked back to him.

"Oh..." Shinku said as she took the big bag from him. It was a little heavier than she had expected. "Uhff... It's a little heavy..."

"Yeah... But, you'll like it, I'm sure. Take a look."

Shinku was eager to know what was in the bag, so she politely removed the wrapping from the bag and opened it slowly. Inside were a couple of boxes. Shinku took the top of the first box off and placed her hands inside to pull out the contents.

"Are these..." Shinku said as she reached in and pulled out the most beautiful sundress she had ever seen before. It was red with a black ribbon at the waist, meant to be tied around as a belt.

"They're clothes," Jun explained, "Human clothes that fit you, now that you're human..."

Shinku went through the rest of the clothes. Dresses, dress shoes, nylons, and undergarments.

"I'm not really good at fashion or anything, but I guess they seemed like your type. If you don't like them, I can just return them--"

"My goodness... Jun, you have a good eye. These are absolutely stunning. But, they must have cost a fortune..."

"They did... But, you need them."

"Well, uhh...thank you..." Shinku smiled awkwardly, as she rarely ever gave such an informal thanks. She began to take the bag with the empty boxes in them downstairs.

"Uh... Wait, Shinku..." Jun called as he reached out for Shinku, "There's something else..."

Shinku turned around and blinked her eyes at him. "What is it?"

Jun reached into his back pocket and pulled out a little, tiny bag. From inside the bag, he removed a small, silver chained necklace. There was a small red gem at the end of it, shaped in the form of a red rose. It was gorgeous. Shinku dropped the bag and ran up to Jun to obtain it.

"Jun... Thank you...!" Shinku nearly cried.

Jun smiled faintly, nodded, and walked downstairs with the empty bags and boxes.

For the rest of the evening, Shinku sat in Jun's room, wearing a brand new sundress...

Twirling around the ruby necklace in front of her eyes, back and forth...

_"Jun.."._

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**TO BE CONTINUED**

**

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**_**OSP** : Well, I'm starting to get into a Rozen Maiden fanfiction trend... First it was Code Geass (It still is) and now, I guess it's Rozen Maiden. I have the weirdest feeling that Higurashi is next up on my list for fanfictions. Anyways, please do report in a review what you think about this story; Suggestions and concerns welcome._

_Desu._


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